Photo: EUG 2016
The best European student karateists fought for medals in the Kumite discipline at Bojan Stranić Volleyball Hall. When translated from Japanese, Kumite literally means ‘grappling hands’, and it denotes individual fights. This discipline is very attractive for the audience, as could be seen on the third day of the karate competition when the karateists were supported by many of their colleagues and friends.
In the men’s category up to 60 kg, the winner was Richard Dobrotka, a student from the Matej Bel University from Slovakia. He shared his good mood with us after winning the gold medal. The first favourite of the women’s competition was Ana Lenard, who won the bronze medal at the first European Games in Baku last year. Ana, who is a student at the University of Zagreb, won the gold medal in the category up to 61 kg. At the last night’s opening ceremony of the European Universities Games 2016, she took an oath on behalf of all athletes. When asked if she was more nervous last night when swearing an oath or today during the competition, she said :
[quote]Mihael and Franko, 7-year-old karateists from the karate club Hrvatski Dragovoljac, participated in the medal ceremony by demonstrating a sparring session. They started training karate at the age of three. They are starting school this autumn, so Franko revealed to us his current biggest concern.[/quote]The guests from the Yuki karate school from Brežice in Slovenia did an impressive demonstration with sabres, breaking wooden boards. The medical volunteers were left speechless by their stunts. Katja Avsec is a nursing student from Slovenia, and Tina Krmpotić is a sports physiotherapist from Zagreb. During the karate competition in the last few days, they treated, together with their fellow pharmacists and professional doctors, what were mostly nose injuries. They both agreed that this was an invaluable professional experience for them. They revealed to us that karateists fake injuries less than, for example, teams sports players. They were amazed by the confidence, discipline, and precision of all karateists. And the winners truly had such traits!
